Weight Loss Requires More Than Exercising

You can exercise every day for an hour. Use your lunch break to hit the gym. And hire a personal trainer.

But none of it will make a difference on the scale unless you consider what you’re eating. Or, more specifically, how many calories you’re consuming.

The latest research proves the point that it takes more than just exercise to lose weight.

Americans are working out more than ever today. At the same time, more people are becoming obese – reaching a body mass index of 30 or greater, a new report shows.

From 2001 to 2009, the percentage of adults who met the federal guidelines for exercise increased in most of the counties in the United States, according to a report in Population Health Metrics. At the same time, the percentage of people considered obese also went up significantly. In some places, the increase was 15 percent.

Consider Lewis County in Kentucky. Roughly 29 percent of men were obese in 2001. That percentage climbed to 45 percent in 2009.

“Our study showed that increased physical activity alone has a small impact on obesity prevalence at the county level in the U.S.,” the authors wrote. “Indeed, the rise in physical activity levels will have a positive independent impact on the health of Americans as it will reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Other changes such as reduction in caloric intake are likely needed to curb the obesity epidemic and its burden.”